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Dining With Gilles

by Gilles and Kathy Syglowski

Old Stein Inn
1143 Central Ave., Edgewater
410-798-6807

Schnitzel, Spätzle, Riesling….it all spells Fall!

From October fest to Wine fest, you'll enjoy celebrating the season at the Old Stein Inn. It's an authentic German bierstube and biergarten with a distinctive menu and style.

It had been about two years since our last visit, and the weather was cooperating with my yearning for Gewürztraminer, Riesling and a perfect plate of spätzle. No one makes it better than Chef Mike Cummings. He was taught by the best, Karl Selinger.

Mike started his training at Old Stein the age of fourteen, washing dishes and learning all he could before venturing off to make his own mark. He spent some time at The Corinthian as the banquet chef, married, learned a few tricks from other renowned area chefs and then returned to the Inn.

Now retired, Karl Selinger leaves the cooking to Mike C., and the spirit and dedication to carry on to his son, Mike Selinger, and his wife Beth

The Old Stein Inn is known for classical and modern German cuisine, but if you are a regular, you know that its libations are a special attraction. It takes a while to leaf through page upon page of their genuine German beers and wines.

On this crisp evening in late September, we were celebrating Katelyn's birthday with good friends Haz and Cathy (also a chef). With company to share a good bottle of wine, we immediately started thumbing through those glorious pages, while Haz enjoyed a beer sample suggested by our waitress.

We were feeling quite adventurous with our Vorspeisen (appetizers) selections, and having other professionals in our company made it even more interesting. We chose the assorted German wurst platter with selected cheeses, potato pancakes and a crock of Munster Cheese and Crab Suppe. Though the wurst featured an excellent selection of Bratwurst, Bauernwurst, Knockwurst and Weisswurst, we had the most fun with the cheese and crab soup. Note: do not order this on a date. It was so gooey it was funny. As we tried to pass the crock for everyone to taste the fantastic contents, the cheese formed such long strands that Katie and I had to roll it on our soup spoons to get it up to our mouths. It was great fun and delicious-and only $6. There are nine other appetizers to choose, priced from $5-8.

We then moved on to our entrée selections. Haz chose the sour beef and dumplings, while the rest of us chose our favorite schnitzels (I love saying that word!), which are breaded pork tenderloins. The varieties were Wiener Schnitzel topped with anchovies and lemon, Jagerschnitzel topped with Hunter sauce of fresh mushrooms and onions, and then my own plain schnitzel. All were accompanied by red cabbage and my favorite…. Spätzle. These tiny flour dumplings are boiled, chilled in ice water, and then sautéed in butter before serving.

On our previous visit, we discovered Old Stein's incredible Apple Cheese Cake. I'll let you guess what we had for dessert, and yes, it was just as scrumptious.

Chef Mike does a wonderful job with the authentic German food-it shows as you glance around the room of satisfied patrons-but his passion is wild game. The Selingers host a number of wild game and wine dinners throughout the year and feature guest speakers with them. They are a favorite with the locals, and tend to sell out quickly. Mike Selinger is quite knowledgeable about the pairings of beer and wine, and Mike Cummings is left to create the fabulous menu. (His talents have been noticed on the Food Network; he holds an award for his "Rinder Rolladen.")

The Old Stein Inn also began wine tasting dinners a couple of years ago, and has been quite successful with them. They're offered twice a year by reservation. For more information on upcoming events, visit the web site: www.oldstein-inn.com.

So get your sweaters out, gather up your friends and stop in for a delicious and truly traditional family feast. The Old Stein is open 4-9 pm. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 4-10 pm on Friday and Saturday.